Photographs
by lilred16
Summary: Jason, Nadia, Peter, Ivy, Matt, Lucas, and so many others have a story to tell. Their own. (Pre-bare, During bare, After bare) *based off of the pop opera
1. Chapter 1

"Jason! Get in here!" Nadia called out into the nearly empty house.

"What?!"

"Get! In! Here!"

Jason walked into the large living room before seeing Nadia seated on the floor. She had her legs crossed, and she was going through old photographs. She began to separate them based off of who was in each one. Jason sat down beside his loud-mouthed sister before picking up pictures that she had deemed his.

"What are these from?"

"Remember when Mom wanted to scrapbook 'every moment because you never know when it's going to be your last'?"

"Yeah," Jason shivered. He had recalled all of the times his mother made him smile because it was all every mom was doing. Scrapbooking and finding new recipes on a website called Pinterest.

"She wanted us to go through them. She's out of that phase." Nadia looked around her and saw all of the different wines along the wall. She always seemed to love going back to the one phase that stuck with all of the moms. It was called the "Red Wine Detox". Apparently, it helped you lose weight. Nadia didn't believe any of it.

Jason nodded at Nadia's previous comment before picking up his pile. He started to go through them, every single one striking up an old memory.

"Hey Jace?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't think all of those are yours. I have an entire stack over here. Mom and Dad sure love their little prodigy."

Jason frowned at his sister's faint attacks at herself. He set down the stack that would already take hours to go through, and began to look at ones that had been taken of the two of them.

"Nadia, this one's cute."

The first one Jason had shown her was their fourth birthday. Their dad had taken the photo while their mother stood in the background telling them to smile. She remembered that day vividly. It was the last day she had eaten her father's famous strawberry cupcakes. He had made strawberry cupcakes ever since Nadia was old enough to enjoy solid food. In fact, their father often called Nadia "cupcake" just to show his love and affection.

The streamers in the picture were pink and blue. The cake frosting was blue, while the cake was half pink due to strawberry flavoring, and half white due to vanilla. Her twin in the picture, Jason, was smiling brightly at the camera while Nadia enjoyed her first piece of cake.

"Would you look at that? It is!" She noted, trying to take her mind off of the present, and look back at the happy moment.

"Remember when you came into my room all upset because Mom had said something the wrong way?"

"Yes! And we sat and played games until 8:30 thinking we were _so bad_."

"Those were the days."

Nadia took a long pause before saying something that had been on her mind for a while. "Jason, do you ever get really excited to leave? I mean, boarding school! We're basically studying abroad, but we're staying with friends!"

Jason smiled at her sister's sudden joy. "Actually I do. I hope I'm roomed with Peter. That would be awesome!"

"I hope I'm roomed with Ivy. If not, I'll do something about it."

"Oh you will? 'Here comes Nadia lunging at the director of room assignments because she wasn't placed in a room with her best friend!'"

"I'll do it."

"I know, silly," there was more silence before Jason spoke up again. "Studying abroad," he chuckled, "more like studying abroad for Catholics."

"Okay, true."

The McConnell's were heavily Catholic people, despite the fact that their mother was a "real housewife". Before the twins, Mrs. McConnell was on one of the Real Housewives shows, though she never specified which one. She was a main housewife though. She made good money and enjoyed her expensive lifestyle.

Their father was a CEO for a famous company. He started in sales, selling household items at lower prices. His main appliance was mix-masters. He had sold many and was promoted to head of sales, and it just kept snowballing.

The McConnell parents had been married for 17 years before they got divorced. It was just last summer that they'd told their children. Jason and Nadia were a wreck. They were starting 8th grade, which is difficult enough, but after the weight of the divorce, they weren't sure how to move on.

Jason was more upset about the divorce than Nadia. Jason loved both of his parents greatly, and always tried to show it. He would talk about school, get good grades, and work especially hard in his bible studies. He vowed to never do drugs, and would always stay clean.

Nadia, on the other hand, was less upset. She was more…joyful. As sweet and caring Nadia's dad had once been, he sure as hell wasn't like that anymore. After he got promoted, he only had time for about one child. And that child was Jason. All she'd hear was "Jason's good at this, Jason's amazing," etc. etc. etc. But with the divorce, Nadia would only have to take on one at a time. Her mother was already judge mental and uncaring. Hell, it was a vacation to be away from one parent, even if that meant spending time with the other.

Because of Nadia's firmness, and how quickly she came to terms, she often consoled Jason. She knew exactly how to make him feel better. They just had to talk it out. Jason wasn't a fan of silly things usually, but when he was sad, Nadia would be right there, messing with him just to get a laugh or a smile. And then they would do some talking. And then she'd be a little sillier. This cycle kept going until Jason could hold that smile and happy personality for over a day. For Nadia, it was a nice change to have Jason come to her for help, instead of the other way around.

About 10 minutes had gone by since the two had spoken. They were both wrapped up in their photos, and reminded of old memories.

There was Jason, who was infatuated with his younger self. He had seen himself grow into a charming young man. There were baseball photos, play dates between him and Peter; photos of times at the arcade with all of his friends, photos of that one time Jason had had a birthday party where his guy friends spent the night, his elementary school graduation, boy scouts, and so many candid photos that were taken on any given day.

Nadia wasn't so pleased. Even though it was hardly noticeable, she kept sneaking glances at Jason's pile. It was huge. Her stack looked like the house among the mansions in _The Great Gatsby_ compared to Jason's. She began to get fed up when she had gone through her stack _twice_ and Jason wasn't even halfway through. She gave a small grunt before getting up to get a snack. Jason's bright blue eyes hit her stack, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. And to him, there was only one thing to do. He raked his hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"Nadia," he began, watching his younger (by only 30 seconds) sister repeatedly shove crackers into her mouth, "I need some help here." The only thing she gave him in return was a scoff. He sighed, and then continued negotiating with his angsty sister. "And then maybe we could play some Zelda." Nadia stopped moving. She slowly turned around, her hand still holding the cracker she was about to put into her mouth. Her free hand moved from the kitchen's island and placed near the stove.

"Which one?"

At this point, Jason had won. He knew he had won. He smirked before shrugging his shoulders. "Which ever one you want. I was thinking….mmm…Twilight Princess?"

Nadia nodded quickly before grabbing the box of crackers and placing herself down next to Jason. She began to glance at each photo before placing it into his pile. She knew the ones he wanted to get rid of. The ones that harnessed unhappy memories and the ones that were too embarrassing to show to a future trophy wife. She came across a picture that she was unsure if it was something he wanted to see again. She knew she didn't. She flashed the photo towards Jason, who stopped and looked at it. He paused before giving her a lost look. She began to get a little frustrated by his actions, and just asked the question.

"Do you want this?"

"Do you?"

"Jason, what do you think? This picture is of you."

"On our 8th birthday."

"So? Do you really think I want to remember our 8th birthday?"

"Why not?"

"Jason. Do you not recall what happened? I ate like 17 cupcakes and then threw up. It's why I ask for different cake every year. Your version of vanilla makes me sick."

"HEY! Vanilla is a classic flavor, FYI. And it happens to be my favorite."

"So do you want it?"

"Is this the picture where I'm covered in your vomit?"

Nadia looked a little bit closer before responding. "Yes."

"Throw it away. Please."

Nadia nodded, and then went over to the trash and hesitated. This was the year that their parents yelled at her for making the birthday boy upset. The year that she spent in bed while her family went and had a good time. A "Happy Birthday" was simply muttered while her brother's was sung. Her heart ached with pain, and then with anger. She ripped the photo, and walked away, content.

"I don't want any of these." Jason said before handing Nadia the pile. She looked through one before pulling out a rather cute one of Jason. He was 6, and playing with their neighbor's dog before it passed. Nadia had taken the picture. She placed it in her pocket before going over to the couch.

"What're you doing? Fire up the Game Cube!"

"Oh right. I promised you Twilight Princess."

"Kinda."

"Fine," Jason walked over and turned on the gaming counsel. He chuckled at Nadia who was getting into her gaming zone. He walked back, sat on the couch, and simply said, "I get to play first."

And there they sat until dinner. Two fourteen year olds being dorks and playing to their heart's content. Not only did Nadia feel loved again, but Jason felt like he was something more than his parent's golden boy. And that's the way it should've been. Forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Nadia's heart raced as the McConnell's pulled up to St. Cecilia's Boarding School for the Catholic. First day of freshman year was on Monday, and it was only Saturday morning. As soon as the car stopped, Nadia ran to retrieve her things from the back. She pulled out her suitcases and multiple boxes before looking for her family to help her move her cello. When she finally spotted where they had gone, she should've known. She should've known that her parents were giving Jason the "Goodbye Speech". They gave it to him every year before school started, but she knew this one would be particularly long. So she waited.

Twenty minutes later, she was still waiting, her voice was tired from trying to get their attention, and she had almost thoroughly given up. She was close to going over and screaming at her brother to help her when a familiar brunette walked up.

"Need a hand?"

"Peter!"

Ah yes, Peter Simmonds. Peter was a young man who appeared to still be a child. He had brown eyes, and brown hair, but not an exact match to Nadia's. His posture remained straight over the years, and was often placed in Honors classes with Nadia and Jason. He'd become one of Nadia's best friends.

Nadia wrapped her arms around Peter and smiled as he did the same. They broke away from the hug, only to have Peter look at the back end of the car she'd rode in. "You want your cello, don't you?"

"Yes, and I've been trying to get my family's attention for what feels like an hour."

"Giving Jason 'the Speech'?"

"God they've given it so many years that even our friends know about it."

"My mom does it too, don't worry."

Just as the words slipped from Peter's mouth, Ms. Simmonds appeared. She was a tall woman, and Peter resembled her greatly. She stood up straight and often wore business casual clothing. She had worked as a Kindergarten teacher for years, but moved into the secretary position at the elementary school. Her short, wavy hair shined in the warm sun of the Summer Saturday morning. She smiled at Nadia before walking over to the two of them.

"Nadia! How are you?"

"I'm great, Ms. Simmonds. Just asking Peter for some help."

"Yeah. Her cello is in the back of her car, and I'm guessing she doesn't want to damage it."

"No, not really."

"If you kids need any help, let me know."

"Thanks, Ms. Simmonds."

"Well your mom isn't giving you the speech right now."

"She did in the car. That's also why her make up is smudged."

"Good to know."

The two faced the car before figuring out how to move the cello out into the warm air. They went with the simple plan of "you push and I'll pull". It took them a little more than 5 minutes, but they still managed to do it.

"Thanks. I didn't want to do it myself."

"Of course! I knew you wouldn't really want to drop it."

"Yeah this thing means too much to me," Nadia commented before smiling and pulling her cello next to her.

The cello had been a mere beginner's cello, but the way she'd gotten it was rather amazing. She'd begged her parents for years until she finally asked Jason to help convince her. The very next birthday, she received a beautifully built and finished cello. After lessons upon lessons, she was ready to play in a youth symphony not too far from her house. This year, she was going to take more private lessons, but through the school. Peter interrupted her thoughts with his own comment. "Yeah, I figured."

"Finally get away from the two lunatics?" Nadia asked as Jason walked up and joined them. He lightly shoved her before the two of them starting laughing. Peter stood, quietly chuckling to himself.

"Did you figure out who you're roomed with, Peter?"

"No, I was just about to. Would you like to come with?"

"Sure. I think the table is just over there."

"Alright let's go."

"Nadia," Jason started, looking around a little bit, "are you going to be okay here with the lunatics?"

She gave a large laugh before nodding her head and saying that "Yeah, I just saw Ivy over there," and that she'd "seen Matt walk around here somewhere," and then saying something about his older sister. Jason nodded before heading to the room assignment table with the graceful brunette.

As soon as Jason left, Nadia called to Ivy, but was quickly dismissed. _She must not have heard me. Oh well._ She looked around the campus before spotting Matt and his luggage. She began to walk over to him, but was halted by her parents.

"Nadia, would you take Jason's stuff to his room when he's done up at the room assignment table?"

"Only if he carries mine, Mom."

"Well you need to gain more muscle."

"Well so does Jason if he wants to keep excelling at sports."

"Nadia, how dare you talk to me like that! Pull Jason's luggage out of the car. Your father and I will walk his stuff over to his room for him. You can manage your stuff by yourself."

She was just about to stand up for herself, but her mother was gone. Nadia gave a heavy sigh before opening up the trunk once again to retrieve suitcases that weren't even hers.

"Well this is grossly unfair."

"Matt! How are you?"

"Great! Excited to be here! You?"

"I just excited to move out."

"I can see why."

"Is my mom looking?"

"No."

"Good," Nadia gave a sigh of relief before leaving the luggage to sit in the sun while she took her own stuff. She thanked the Lord for her rolly-cello case.

"Are you going to room assignments?"

"Yep. Care to join?"

"I'd love to."

Nadia was just about to grab her last suitcase, but Matt did it for her. She smiled sweetly before walking up to the table.

Matt was a strapping gentlemen, and was more mature than most freshman on campus. He had lush strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes that he'd inherited from his mother. He was always sweet, and willing to take a risk for his friends. He did whatever he could to help them through anything.

Matt asked for his room, and a map of the school, "Matthew Lloyd roomed with Lucas Carter."

"Alright! Lucas knows how to have fun! I feel like I'll have some crazy stories to tell my family and cousins back home."

"Yeah you will! Lucas is always ready to have a good time."

"What's your name sweetheart?" The Sister at the table asked, intruding on their little positivity party.

"Nadia McConnell."

"Nadia McConnell roomed with Ivy Robinson."

"Yes! I'm roomed with Ivy! Sorry to beat you Matt, but I'm sure we'll have more stories to tell than you and Lucas combined."

Matt gave a small laugh before helping Nadia retrieve her suitcases to find Jason. They'd requested a room in the same building, hoping to have sleepovers when the staffing around the rooms wasn't extremely strict. She wanted to see how it had worked out between Jason and Peter as well.

Nadia smiled as she looked more at the campus than for Jason. It was truly beautiful. Just the front lawn made the school look promising. It had old church architecture and was a soft cream. The building reminded Nadia of clouds and how free from her parents she was. She couldn't help but smile at her future. Matt interrupted her thoughts by yelling out "There he is!"

They both ran and met up with the dirty blonde who was holding his own suitcases by now. "Well?" Nadia asked impatiently.

"I got roomed with Peter!"

"Yes! We all got great room assignments!"

"Matt, who are you with?"

"Lucas."

"That's going to be sick! We'll have to meet up once we get settled in. Let's say…the cafeteria, seven o'clock?" Jason asked the group of Nadia, Matt, and Peter. They all agreed that seven should be great for all of them.

"Well well well. If it isn't the McConnell boy."

"Miss Robinson." Jason mused back.

"Ivy! How are you?" Nadia questioned, but received no answer. She began to look around the group, trying to study faces. Matt's looked his neutral, fun-loving self. Peter's looked oddly dark, and Lucas, who had just joined the circle, looked like he was floating. Nadia let the conversation go on. She'd have to discuss this with Ivy later.

They all discussed their meeting time and place before hearing Mrs. Simmonds cry out, "PICTURE TIME!"

The group all turned and smiled at their parents. As soon as they had dispersed to talk about _who_ exactly got the best photo, the group turned and faced the building.

"Here we go." Jason said, smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Nadia stepped into her dorm room, excited to get all settled in. She set down her luggage before turning and facing the room. She smiled before sitting on the bed.

Nadia would love living here. Away from her parents, spending time with her brother and her friends, rooming with her best friend, and experiencing life. She would be taking private cello lessons, participating in orchestra, and taking classes she wanted to take. Not classes that her parents want her to take. The door opening halted the train of thought in Nadia's head.

In came Ivy and her parents. Ivy looked…different from year's past. She was wearing a small black pencil skirt, dark eye make-up, and a crop top. Sure she looked different, but Nadia knew it was the same Ivy.

The Robinsons were a wealthy family. They had the one child, Ivy, who'd grown up to be just like the Robinson's version of Jason. She was pretty, almost like looking at the models in COSMO. Her complexion was flawless, unlike Nadia's adolescent face. Her hazel eyes were a perfect contrast to the darkness of her hair. It was no wonder that all of the girls wanted to be her and the guys wanted to be with her. Even in her "awkward years", she was one of the prettiest girls out there.

Mrs. Robinson was a lawyer. Smart, sophisticated, and her life revolved around her little girl. She wanted her daughter to be the next Robinson at law. She often let her daughter sit in on important cases, and Ivy….hated it. She hated the cases and how people were treated. She hated sentencing, and most of all, she hated defending people she didn't like. She looked up to her mother for all of those times a client would drive her crazy, which was often. The best in the business had its perks, but it also had its downfalls.

Mr. Robinson was a professor at a University. He taught a variety of subjects, and was not limited to French Horn private lessons, Biology, Biotech, Chemistry, Mathematics (specifically looking at Geometry), and English. He was always changing his mind. When he would get bored of something, he'd learn something else, resulting in being one of the most flexible and amazing teachers.

Ivy admired her parents, but didn't want to do either of those things. She wanted to do something with art, but she wasn't sure what. She practiced all the time, working on anatomy, coloring, and line art. She was excited to sell her artwork on campus. And she was excited to make new friends.

"Oh we'll miss you so much Ivy! We love you!" Her mom gushed before kissing her cheek and putting her hand there. Her expression was longing, but sweet. She then helped Ivy unpack her boxes and put things away.

Nadia looked at them achingly. Ivy had everything. Nadia got up from her bed and started putting away her clothes. This went on for about 30 minutes before Ivy's mom had a meeting with a rather large client and had to leave to be there on time. As soon as they left, Nadia decided to confront Ivy about their contact before.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Good."

"I said hi before but you must not have heard."

"Oh I heard."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was with my friends."

"We're friends."

Ivy rolled her eyes in response.

"I thought it would be fun to room with you," Nadia spoke, quieter this time.

"I don't know why it's so hard for you to take a hint! I don't want to be friends! Now shut up, fat ass."

Nadia sat back down onto the bed. What happened?

"Are you going to sit and cry now?"

Nadia stood back up and resumed her task. No tears left her face as she continued to unpack her clothes.

"Oh so you think we'll make amends, and be 'best friends,'" Ivy made air quotes. "God, how did you think this would be fun? You want to know what's fun? Staying with friends and having real things to talk about, not dumb things like stickers."

"Well you must have a lot of fun doing other things, judging by the length of your skirt," Nadia smirked back.

And in that moment, the two had lost all feelings of friendship for one another, and were replaced with hatred.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason and Peter had arrived at the same time. Jason's mom and dad were there, along with Peter's mother. Since Peter and Jason had been friends for years, the parents were good friends. They both stood as Jason and Peter unpacked.

Both parents were talking softly to their children, explaining how they would miss them _so much_ while they spent their time at the school. The parents then proceeded to have a conversation of their own. Peter and Jason silently awaited their departure.

Their prayers were answered. Jason's dad had a "meeting" with his "secretary" and Jason's mom was going to pick up a small purse dog from some breeder in the area. Peter's mom gave him one last hug before leaving. She promised to send him care packages every month, along with contacting him every week.

As soon as their parents left, Peter spoke to Jason more casually.

"How was your summer break?"

"Great, actually. I went to some camps, mainly for sports, and I spent some time with Nadia," Jason smiled. Time with Nadia was important, Peter knew. The two spent summers apart from one another, until they finally came home in August. "How was yours?"

"It was fun. I really enjoy summertime, though. It's nice. No stressing about school or something."

"You have a point," Jason mused. God was he just perfect. Peter brushed the thought away before keeping the conversation going.

"Are you trying out for the football team? Or golf?"

"Probably football. Golf isn't until Spring anyways. How did you know I was trying out for golf?"

Peter began to sweat. He had to come up with an excuse for remembering a small fact like this for _three months_. He decided to just tell the truth. "You told me. You said that your dad was signing you up for golf lessons and you were really excited about them."

"Oh right! I had golf lessons. I forgot that I texted you that."

"Yeah. How were they?"

"Really fun. I enjoyed it. It made me feel like who I really am: a rich and snobby kid."

Peter chuckled at Jason's joke. It wasn't unusual for Jason to make jokes about his parents, especially after a few weeks of spending time with Nadia.

"Oh crap, it's almost seven. Matt and Lucas are probably down at the cafeteria by now," Jason guessed. They decided to make their way down to the cafeteria, but not before getting lost.

"Where are we?" Jason asked as he looked around the area. They were in the middle of some courtyard somewhere. It seemed like they were going the right way, but now the two weren't so sure.

Peter gave a breathy laugh before admitting, "I don't know." He was actually thinking how wonderful this sky looked from this spot, and how amazing it would be to have someone to hold right there. It was somewhat secluded by the large white buildings and lit by the moon. There were small beds of flowers around them in small gardens. If he could just—

"Well we have to find our way. It's 7:15. We need to find it."

Peter pulled out his map. It appeared they were close by. "I think we should head near that light over there."

"Good plan. Let's go Peter."

As soon as they walked in, Jason spotted the group. Nadia, Ivy, Lucas, and Matt were already there. For some reason, Jason could feel some serious tension in the group. He looked at Peter, who shrugged.

Jason sat next to his sister and asked her what was going on. She ignored him at first, and then gave a sharp "Nothing. Cut it out."

Jason retreated back into his seat. Ivy called him over, so Jason quickly moved seats. As soon as he moved, he noticed Nadia's expression had gone from angry to upset. What had happened, and more importantly, what would happen to the group?


End file.
